After one of the most shocking trades in the history of professional sports, we look at what the Mavs got in Max Christie
After the Dallas Mavericks sent seismic waves through Texas over the weekend, we covered the addition of Anthony Davis. Max Christie is the other player in the transaction that saw Nico Harrison draw the ire of an entire legion of fans, so in this second of two parts, we’ll take a look at what he brings to Dallas.
Listed at 6’6” and 190 lbs., Christie is a third-year SG that has played his entire career in Los Angeles up until this weekend. The 35th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, he was selected by the Lakers after a single year at Michigan State. In college, he started every game he played while averaging 9.3 PPG.
With the Lakers, Christie was having his best statistical season this year behind 25 starts.
Career accolades include:
- Career High Points: 28
- Career High Rebounds: 9
- Career High Assists: 6
- On the season, Christie is averaging 8.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 1.4 APG
Where Christie slots in is anyone’s guess. The Mavs’ new starting five is still technically TBA, but rumors have it that when healthy it will be Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Anthony Davis and Dereck Lively (but in the near term, Daniel Gafford). With backups such as Jaden Hardy, Spencer Dinwiddie, Dante Exum, and Brandon Williams in the backcourt spots, it will be interesting to see where Christie fits. The subsequent trade of Quentin Grimes for Caleb Martin (more of a small forward) theoretically opens up some space for Christie, but for now we’ll have to wait and see how it all plays out on the court. If we go by what we saw in last night’s game against the 76ers, there is a good chance we’ll be seeing plenty of Christie going forward.
Like Davis, Christie is now part of the Dallas Mavericks for better or worse. If you’ve had your finger anywhere near the pulse of this trade (and you’re here, so you have) it seems increasingly likely that both Christie and Davis have a tough road ahead of them. They will forever be known as the two players that replaced franchise cornerstone Luka Doncic. Davis has his own star power and a ring to go with it, but it’s difficult not to see Christie as a beacon for how little Dallas got in exchange for a generational talent. This, of course, is totally unfair to Christie. If nothing else, he brings more youth, capable three-point shooting (37.3% for his career) and at least the potential for upside yet realized.